Just finished up my 2015 reel. Was looking to get feedback from you guys please. Specifically any Producers/Directors who look at showreels a lot - Would this grab your attention or would you move onto the next reel?

Just finished up my 2015 reel. Was looking to get feedback from you guys please. Specifically any Producers/Directors who look at showreels a lot - Would this grab your attention or would you move onto the next reel?

I'd move onto the next reel.

You have a very nice reel, but virtually every shot is in slow-motion, which is more of directorial device. I would therefore deduce that, if I hired you, you'd have your own vision you'd want to follow...not the director's.

I will second DiPietra's answer, but I have to say the running girl in the woods shots are Gorgeous! And if not the Vimeo compression, I like the fact that you seem to actually assume noise in low-light conditions. Technical specs?

Hi Bill, thanks for the feedback. I did suspect that might be the response to my reel. I did direct a lot of the shots or I worked with directors who share my fetish for high frame rates. I edited it with some real time shots in there but I took then out as they kinda broke the flow of the edit. Maybe I'll put them back in.

Jean, I shot that scene in the summer just as the sun dropped over the horizon. So it was almost full day light but no flares or harsh shadows. I then graded it in resolve to make it look like dusk.

Beautiful shots, but I feel a cinematographer should set the mood and not concentrate on glamour shots- glamour shots are normally used in perfume commercials and the likes, it would be very distracting for a film to be shot in such a way. For instance this little sequence in 'Vera Cruz' directed by Robert Aldrich isn't the most glamorous of scenes, but the cutting is perfect, the sequence of shots shows how misplaced Burt Lancaster is among these people. Robert Aldrich had great sense of where to put the camera and where the cuts should be. It's the little things that makes a good film. The composition, creating movement within the scene is more important, it's what I would want to master before anything else.

Hi Bill, thanks for the feedback. I did suspect that might be the response to my reel. I did direct a lot of the shots or I worked with directors who share my fetish for high frame rates. I edited it with some real time shots in there but I took then out as they kinda broke the flow of the edit. Maybe I'll put them back in.

Jean, I shot that scene in the summer just as the sun dropped over the horizon. So it was almost full day light but no flares or harsh shadows. I then graded it in resolve to make it look like dusk.

Keep the feedback coming - this is helpful!

With the name submotion I thought you were trying to specialise in slow motion photography?

Usually people who do that kind of thing more work on product shots for commercials and the like though more than narrative stuff.

Richard.. I think its a nice reel.. Ive heard from directors,when I was getting a reel together.. they want to see clips of actual sequences .. not just a whole load of really nice shots.. if its a commercial.. show the whole thing.. if its doc or drama show a few actual sequences .. you can just fade to black between them.. plus I have about 5 clips on reel site.. doesn't have to be just one .. but I,d say 5/6 max.. your reel obviously shows you can light/operate/etc at a very high level.. but just passing on what I was told by a few dir,s.. they expect that you can do pretty shots.. but they want to see coverage.. my 2 cents ..

I think it's a very nice reel. I personally like to see footage from each project grouped together (other than intro/outtro) to get a better sense of each specific 'look' but in this case it's pretty clear which projects are which. I would probably use less slow motion to show more variety but every shot is gorgeous.

Ive heard from directors,when I was getting a reel together.. they want to see clips of actual sequences .. not just a whole load of really nice shots.. if its a commercial.. show the whole thing.. if its doc or drama show a few actual sequences .. you can just fade to black between them.. plus I have about 5 clips on reel site.. doesn't have to be just one .. but I,d say 5/6 max.. your reel obviously shows you can light/operate/etc at a very high level.. but just passing on what I was told by a few dir,s.. they expect that you can do pretty shots.. but they want to see coverage.. my 2 cents ..

Robin, I'm very interested to hear you say this. I've heard the opposite feedback where some directors feel you are 'stepping on their toes' by showing 'their' coverage (i.e. show me what you can do with composition, movement, lighting and let me worry about coverage and cutting). I totally disagree with this and feel good coverage and editable shots are part of the job. Maybe there is a divide between directors who mainly do commercials versus narrative? What kind of directors were you hearing back from?

Yes sorry I probably should have mentioned that is was Doc /Corp directors .. where a lot or most of the time.. to varying degree,s.. its like.. well here we are.. X and Y and Z are important to this scene.. go and get it.. your not being directed as it were.. apart from a certain style thats been discussed before hand.. and what needs to be shown/seen/conveyed.. if possible .. and you are deciding the coverage literally as it happens in some cases.. they want to know you will get the cut aways/wides/ can hand hold.. etc as well as compose and light..

But even for drama.. I guess it comes down to the dir and how they want to work.. some concentrate on the actors and let you do your thing.. others want to actually operate the camera..!. I guess thats why Dir/DP,s will often team up when ever they can .. because they get on and think the same..

Ive never shot big commercials so I don't know that world .. well could be that that they want only to see pretty pictures and have control over everything else.. but you,d hope there would be some collaboration.. I once had a director basically use me like an operator and on /off button pusher with his head stuck in the monitor all day.. and it didnt end well.. I was even told off for shooting B roll ,without his permission basically, and he told me he would never use them.. without even seeing them.. !! .. I think I might be a bit worried about a dir who thought his/her position could be usurped .. from someones showreel